Miguel A. Lopes / Lusa
Government program opened door to work changes, but has never referred to the “deep reform” that is now proposed. Two months passed, and the bet on the family seems to deviate from what was promised.
Just two months ago, the Democratic Alliance (AD) promised to strengthen the regimes of equality, parenting and conciliation between work and family; It promised to make labor, with adaptable times and incentives for companies that hired parents with small or pregnant children.
During the campaign for legislative elections, the alliance had the family as a priority in-committed to “betting on family as the base cell of society and in family support policies, valuing motherhood and paternity, facing the serious birth crisis and encouraging families to grow ”.
Two months have passed, and the government led by Luís Montenegro is proposing, very controversial, one at work that has never clearly presented in its electoral program, as well as minimal references that did nothing to anticipate everything they want to change in the law of labor.
Among the most controversial measures is the limitation of up to two years of age. Minister Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho “finds it hard to conceive that, after two years, a child has to be fed to the chest during work hours. This means that perhaps does not eat anything else, which is strange. She should eat soup, should eat other things.”
The government also wants parents with children under 12 at the weekend or night. In practice, in some sectors, workers are seen prevented from having a fixed time -From Monday to Friday and with free weekend-if this time is incompatible with the company’s requirements.
The proposal to eliminate the three days of paid absence because it has also been the target of much criticism. Even inside the PSD is already admitted: this draft “fails to put families at the center of work policy”in the public the PSD deputy João Pedro Louro.
The alliance that remained in government also I never said it was going to move law passed three months before it promotes rights in delivery and that Montenegro now wants to revoke. In fact, there is no reference in the program to the concept that the government wants to eliminate.
AD also never promised, nor did it refer to the election program – confessed only to “reviewing the essential learning” of it.
Looking at the program, the only reference to these changes are generic and comprehensive terms. In fact, Note O, only in the 200th page of the program is the first reference to the intention to “review the labor legislation, desirably in the context of social concertation”.
In the program A AD speaks to “balance workers protection with greater flexibility of labor regimes”; The same reference to a “balance” between worker and employer arises in the theme of the parenting regime that is now the subject of controversy.
“Revisiting the parenting license regime and other measures to support parenting and reconciliation between professional and family life, in a balanced way between mothers and fathers.”, Reads; “Simplification of the Labor Code by rationalizing the articulated, focused on reducing context costs, thus ensuring greater implementation and understanding of the rules by the parties”; “Revisiting the legal framework and privileging social concertation in defining the rules of the labor relationship, adjusted to the reality of each sector, instead of the Labor Code and other associated legislative generic frameworks.”
“Equation of the creation of tax benefits (…) for companies that create parenting support programs, such as day care centers for children of employees, who hire pregnant women, mothers/fathers with children up to three years old, flexible hours and other benefits that make employees’ family life easier, contributing to the culture of ‘penalization’ by employers.”
The significant reform that is now proposed only gained traction when Montenegro when the historic CP strike scared the country. Even so, a deep reform was never mentioned in the generality of labor law.
The reform, “”, does not seem to have the consensus of the other parties and should face obstacles in Parliament.
Tomás Guimarães, Zap //
